Microbial population biology covers a diverse range of cutting edge issues in[unreadable] the microbial sciences and beyond. Firmly founded in evolutionary biology[unreadable] and with a strongly integrative approach, the GRC in Microbial Population[unreadable] Biology attracts researchers from evolutionary biology, ecology, computational[unreadable] biology, molecular biology, medical microbiology and epidemiology, bacterial[unreadable] genetics, population genetics, and more recently, systems biology. Research[unreadable] at the cutting edge of this rapidly growing field is consistently innovative (high[unreadable] impact papers in the top journals is the norm). This application seeks funding[unreadable] to support a special session on the evolution of infectious disease at the 2007[unreadable] meeting of the Microbial Population Biology GRC.[unreadable] [unreadable] The emergence of new kinds of infectious disease (including antibiotic[unreadable] resistance) is a reality. Recent years have seen the emergence of HIV, SARS[unreadable] and the world remains acutely aware of the possibility of a new influenza[unreadable] pandemic. While the study of diseases typically falls within the domain of[unreadable] clinicians and microbiologists, the emergence of new infectious disease is[unreadable] primarily a problem in evolution and ecology. Molecular biology might tell us[unreadable] how many mutations are needed to switch from H5N1 (bird flu) to a form that[unreadable] is transmissible through human populations, but it is evolutionary biology that[unreadable] asks about the origin of these mutations, the order in which they need to[unreadable] occur and the likelihood of their occurrence: from this it becomes possible to[unreadable] build models and make predictions.[unreadable] [unreadable] Real progress in understanding the emergence of infectious disease[unreadable] and antibiotic resistance (including its control) requires that physicians talk[unreadable] with evolutionary biologists; that theorists talk with experimentalists. We[unreadable] propose to bring together a diverse spectrum of scientists in order to focus on[unreadable] cutting edge issues. The ensuing exchange of ideas ? particularly when[unreadable] fuelled by open debate among the full spectrum of meeting participants ? will[unreadable] provoke the emergence of new concepts and approaches for the study of the[unreadable] emergence of infectious disease that will ultimately make a difference to what[unreadable] is arguably the most significant public health issue of our time.